Money-saving box or purse.



No. 723,415. PATENTED MAR. 24, 1 903.

. G'. SMITH. MONEY SAVING BOX 0R PURSE.

APPLIOATIOIIILED JUNE 7, 1902.

I '30 MODEL. 2 sums-51131111.

PATENTED MAR. 24s, 1903 a. SMITH. MONEY SAVING BOX 0R PURSE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 7, 1902.

.10 MODEL.

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IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIII 1r ifiilovltr llolynllll UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

GEORGE SMITH, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

MONEY-SAVING. Box OR PURSE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No." 723,415, dated March24, 1903.

Application filed June 7, 1902. $erial No. 110,595. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE SMITH, a subject of the King of England, anda resident of 8 Red Lion Square, Holborn, London, England, have inventeda certain new and Improved Money-Saving Box or Purse, of which thefollowing is a specification.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is top view of thefoundation-plate for a single-- coin money-box detached. Fig. 2 is a topview of an operating-lever detached. Fig. 3

is a top view of the plate with the lever and Fig. 4 is a'lonaratchet-Wheel in position. gitudinal section of the box, showinga slightmodification in the arrangement of the lever.

eifected by means of aspring-catch in the Fig. 5 is a cross-section onthe line 1 2, Fig. 4. Fig. 5 is a plan view of a spring-catch detached.Fig. 6 is a plan View of the mechanism shown at Figs. 4 and 5 removedfrom ther modification with part of the plate broken away, and Fig. 10is a cross-section of the same. Fig. 11 is a plan view detached of amodified form of spring-catch. Fig. 12 is a plan view of part of thefoundation-plate as arranged to receive it. Fig. 13 shows thespring-catch of Fig. 11 and the foundationplate of Fig. 12 assembled.Fig. 14 is a plan view showing how the invention can be adapted for twokinds of coins-say pennies and half-pennies or sixpences and shillings.

In all the figures the parts are drawn on an enlarged scale, and thesame letters and figures of reference referto corresponding parts.

'This invention relates to that class of money-saving box or purse whichwhen locked is so retained until a prearranged number of coins has beenplaced therein, the object of the invention being, first, to simplifythe construction of such boxes or purses; second, to provide against theoperating of the looking device by any ordinary means other than a coin;third, to provide against the Withdrawal of a coin after the registerhas been moved, and, fourth, to prevent the moving of the locking diskafter the exact number of coins has been inserted-that is to say, whenzero is reached.

In money-saving boxes or purses of the class above referred tothegeneral construction hitherto has been of a complicated characterhavinga number of delicate parts which entailed a comparatively highcost of production, the said parts readily getting out of order, so thatthe box would not Work, the looking device could be readily unlocked bymeans of, say, a knife-blade, so that the registering mechanism could beoperated without the insertion of a coin, and it was also possible tooperate the register with a coin and then withdraw the coin.

In carrying out my invention I employ an oblong or other suitably-shapedmetal box with a hinged cover or lid, the locking being box-body takingover the edge of a graduated disk in the cover, to which a step-by-stepmotion is given every time the box is operated, on the insertion of acoin, until a notch in the disk comes opposite the springcatch, when thelid will be free to open.

The parts of the mechanism are carried by a foundation-plate, which isconveniently fixed inside the cover or lid of the box So far I haveindicated only features that are old, and I will now proceed to describethe improvements, having reference to the accompanying drawings beforementioned.

Referring then to Fig. l, a is the foundation-plate, and b thecoin-opening formed in one corner thereof. 0 is a hole for the pivot ofa ratchet-wheel, and dthe hole for the pivot of an operating-lever. Atthe opposite corner at the same end I strike up two tongues e e,preferablyin a diagonal direction, longi-.

tudinally of the plate. In the length of each tongue I form a bulgeffora purpose to be presently explained, and the free end of each tongue Iturn up slightly to form a catch 9.

At the other end of the plate and near the bottom I strike up anothertongue h, the free end of which is slightly turned up to act as a spring-pawl'to retain a ratchet-wheel in position, as will be explained.Pivot-ed to this foundation-plate a is a second plate of special form,which I prefer for convenience to term the operating-lever 2', parts ofwhich are shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 6. sists of a flat portion 1',which lies on and works on the plate a, a turned-up portionj, equal tothe thickness of a coin, and a circu- This lever conlar extension 74;with a finger lat one side. In the flat portion t I form a tongue m,which is intended to act as an operating-pawl to the ratchet-wheel abovereferred to, and two slots 71 n, which will receive the two catches g g.of the springtongues e of the plate a and limit or prevent the movementof the lever 4; until the catches are forced out of the slots, as willbe presently explained. The edges of the circular part 7; are turneddown at 0 0 a distance equal to the turned-up partj of the plate orlever '5, such distance corresponding to the thickness of the coin, asbefore stated, and in the part 7c I form a tongue 1) to act as a springto press the coin down on the plate a when inserted and also to force asticky coin through the opening 5 into the box.

Pivoted to the plate a, above the lever 72 and in such a position thatthe pawis h m, before mentioned, will take into the teeth, is aratchet-wheel q, having teeth on its under side, with which alocking-disk r is rigidly connected in any convenient manner. (See Figs.4 and 5.) This ratchet-wheel (1 may be produced by stamping from a diskblank with teeth around the edge and by a second operation turning theteeth down at right angles, as seen at Figs. 4, 5,and 10, or the teethmay be formed by a series of short tongues extending downward from theunder side of the disk. The locking-disk r is dish-shaped, with a broadrim like a miniature soup-plate, (see Figs. 4 and 5,) graduations beingmarked on the rim, where also a notch s is formed. In forming'this notchs the piece removed is turned down to form a stop t. The ratchetwheel 1may be placed on one side of the foundation-plate a and the locking-disk"r on the other, and by turning the disk to bring a number correspondingto the number of coins it. is desired to collect in the box opposite apointer a the ratchet-wheel q will be set to work the locking-disk 7around in order that the notch 5 may at the right moment free a catchsecured to the box-body. The ratchetwheel and locking-disk may, however,be combined in one, as shown at Figs. 9 and 10. The coins are insertedthrough a slot '2; in the turned-down edge of the cover or lid of thebox, (see Fig. 4,) and the fingerl on the lever i will project throughthe same slot.

The operation of the appliance is as follows: A coin is inserted in theslot 2) under the lever 2', and as it enters it will press against thetwo springs e e by contact with the bulgesfand push the catches g out of.the slots n 'n (see Fig. 3) or raise the springs e 6 above the catchesg g. (SeeFig. 4.) The lever '21 is thus released and can be moved to oneside to such an extent as to bring the coin over the opening I), throughwhich it will be pushed by the spring 1) into the box. In Fig. 4 thesprings e e will act the part of the spring 19, and the spring 2), Fig.6, will take the place of c in Fig. 3. The lever 71 will also work theratchet-wheel (1 around one tooth, so as to bring the notch s of thelocking-disk r so much nearer the spring-catch. When the notch s arrivesat the catch, the stop 25 will come into operation and by strikingagainst the catch on the box will prevent any further movement of theregistering mechanism. The lid will now be free to open, as there isnothing to retain it.

The spring-catch on the box may be formed as shown at Figs. 4, 5, and (y-that is to say, of a strip of metal to, one end of which is rivetedinside the box. The strip is bulged outward at so and is bent at rightangles at y. The edges of this part y are beveled oif away from thenotch z, in which the locking-disk r catches, as clearly seen at Fig. 5.

In the modification Figs. 4 and G the springs e e are formed in the partof the lever t', the equivalent for the catches g being formed in theplate a and being indicated by the same letter 9. In fact, the springportions may be said to be reversed, and the form of the lever isslightly modified. One of the turned-down portions 0 of the leverstrikes against a turned-up portion 1 of the plate a, which thus limitsthe movement of the lever in the forward direction; otherwise the actionof this modification is the same as the arrangement first described.

Instead of completely stamping outthe hole I; I may leave the partstamped up partly attached to the plate a, as seen at Figs. 7 and 8, soas to form what may be termed a cover a to the hole, and this cover towill extend just over the edge of the lever 2' and will serve as a guidefor the lever to keep it down in its place.

Fig. 9 shows a further slight modification in the form of the lever t'in place of the slots 71 n, pawls being provided which I will alsoletter n n, as they represent the mechanical equivalents. Theratchet-wheel q and the locking-disk r are, however, combined in thisarrangement, the notch .9 being formed in'the edge of the wheel q, asseen in the figure. The plate a is cut away at 2 to allow the pawl m toproject through and take into the teeth of the wheel (1. The form of thelocking-catch is slightly modified, as it has to take over the teeth ofthe ratchet, as seen at Fig. 10.

In place of forming the spring-catches e c in the plate a I may find itdesirable to produce them separate in the form shown at Fig. 11, andthis piece will be attached to the plate a by rivets or in any otherconvenient manner.. One mode of securing this piece is by means oftriangular tongues struck from the plate a, passed through slits in thespringpiece, and then folded down, as indicated in Fig. 13.

The arrangement of mechanism to take two coins will be clearlyunderstood from the diagrammatic view Fig. 14 without furtherdescription, the only difference between this arrangement and thoseabove described being that the lever for a penny (or the larger-coinside) has to move twice the distance of that III) for the half-penny,(or the smaller-coin side,) so as to ratchet the wheel around adistanceequal to two teeth (the equivalent to the two half-pennies or othersmaller coin) on each movement of the lever.

From the above description and an inspection of the drawings it will beseen that the number of parts is reduced to a minimum, and these partsare of the simplest construction, being all stamped out of sheet metal.The assembling of the parts is also of an extremely simple character,and there is nothing to get out of order with fair usage.

It will be seen that when the coin is inserted in the slot it will pressdown the two springs e e, and thus unlock the lever 11; but as soon asthe coin has moved a sufiiicient distance one of the springs will riseand by means of its bulge fwill prevent the back motion of the coin. Thesize of the coin-orifice available is thus reduced, and the withdrawalof the coin after registering is rendered impossible.

By employing two springs of the character described it will beimpossible to effect the movement of the registering-wheel by theinsertion of an ordinary knife-blade, and if a blade wide enough todepress both springs be inserted then the lever will not work, as itsmovement will be arrested by the blade striking against the edge of theslot.

The top of the ratchet-wheel may also be graduated, and a little windowmay be made in the cover of the box, so that the graduations may showthrough.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a registering money-box, the combination with the lid of the box,of a foundationplate having a coin-opening, spring-catches provided withbulges, both catches and bulges adapted to project above the surface ofsaid plate, a spring-retaining pawl integral with said plate, anoperating-lever pivoted to said plate and having a portion to moveparallel with and in contact with said plate and a recessed portion tomove parallel with but at a distance from said plate and a portionextending beyond the lid, a spring-operating pawl integral with thefirst-named portion, stops for the catches in the same portion and apressing-spring in the recessed portion, a ratchet-wheel having teethunderneath adapted to cooperate with the lever-pawl, a lockingdiskrigidly connected with the ratchet-wheel to enter a notch in aspring-catch,and a springcatch on the box, all substantially as hereindescribed.

2. In registering mechanism for moneyboxes," a foundation plate havingspringcatches formed with bulges and adapted to project above the faceof said plate, a springretaining pawl, an operating-lever having notchesfor the spring-catches, an operatingpawl and a pressing-spring, aratchet-wheel having teeth on its under side, and a lockingdisk rigidlyconnected with the ratchet-wheel and provided with a stop set at arightangle to the face of the disk and havinga notch in its edge, allsubstantially as herein described.

3. In a registering mechanism for moneyboxes, a foundation-plate and anoperatinglever pivoted thereto, two spring-catches for said levercarried by said plate and having bulges or projections to be depressedby the insertion of a coin and to rise successively behind the coin asit is moved forward by said lever, substantially as herein described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE SMITH.

Witnesses:

ALFRED V. BISHOP, A. Cos'rA.

